No. The Predator as first designed was an unarmed reconnaissance UAV and it did not carry weapons when it entered service in 1995. It was modified to carry and

No. The Predator as first designed was an unarmed reconnaissance UAV and it did not carry weapons when it entered service in 1995. It was modified to carry and fire Hellfire missiles in 2001 and first flew with them operationally over Afghanistan late that year. The 'Predator' moniker likely referred to the UAV's role in hunting down targets through surveillance, especially as there was no intention to develop an armed version when it first entered service. That need only arose after the US's experience in the Balkans in the late '90s.